This invention relates to the hay and forage feeders to feed horses and animals. More particularly it relates to animal feeders which dispense feed, automatically at defined, designated times.
The Programmable Hay-Forage Feeder enables the horse and livestock owner to feed animals even when unable to be there at certain times. The Programmable Hay-Forage Feeder is a whole bale feeder. The closest prior art for this type of problem is a Round Hay Animal Feeder, U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,007, Rotating Livestock Hay/Feeder dated Jun. 1, 1999 from Robert Duin. This feeder takes a flake of hay at a time and then operates in a circular, round crank fashion. Using a flake of hay at a time, the Rotating Livestock Hay/Feeder must be loaded with individual flakes of hay frequently.
The Programmable Hay-Forage Feeder of this invention overcomes the need to 1). Break the hay into individual flakes, and 2). Load hay frequently by using a WHOLE bale at a time. There are different embodiments of the Hay-Forage Feeder to allow for small single bales to full one ton bales at a time of all types of hay, baled feed and forage. The Programmable Hay-Forage Feeder takes the bale, and rakes through the bale to release small, individual portions of the hay during prescribed times, releasing periodically throughout the day. This definitely overcomes the disadvantage the xe2x80x9cRotating Livestock Hay/Feederxe2x80x9d has, as it does not require the frequent manual loading of the hay, and it does not require flaking and manually tearing the hay bale apart, thereby reducing potential hay loss and droppage when loading. Additionally, by utilizing an entire bale or two at a time, the Programmable Hay-Forage Feeder needs to be loaded only when the full bale is used, which can be a few days, versus two or three times a day as with other options. The Programmable Hay-Forage Feeder allows animals to have better digestion and processing of the hay-forage by feeding small amounts periodically, spread out throughout the day versus force feeding large amounts once or twice a day.
There has not heretofore been described a programmable hay or forage feeder having the features and advantages provided by the present invention.
The Programmable Hay-Forage Feeder of this invention, is a simple, reliable, automatic and controlled way to feed horses, livestock and animals throughout the day without physically being there to manually dispense the hay. This invention is focused on the animals, allowing them to eat small amounts periodically throughout the day. However, there are advantages to the human and horse or livestock owner including ease of schedule, meeting feeding deadlines and peace of mind knowing the animals are being fed even when the owner is stuck in a meeting late at work.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention include:
Make it easy and simple to feed animals throughout the day without being there
Fill the hay-forage feeder once every 3-4 days (dependant on application), check them when possible
Helps reduce animal boredom
Enables easier digestion for horses and animals by distributing small quantities, more frequent hay feedings several times during the day
Allow for horse and animal owners to know their horse is being fed when they are unable to meet prescribed feeding times
Give the horses/animals activity and something to do during long days
Great alternative to force feeding large quantities twice a day
Easily accommodates rectangular, square, or round hay/forage bales
Other features and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.